You don't have to like Peter Strzok, or James Comey, or Robert Mueller, or anyone else involved in these various investigations. CNN host Wolf Blitzer called them "damning", while political director David Chalian said to suggest these texts were not indicative of bias is "just flat wrong on its face". Strzok, who was removed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller from the Russian Federation probe, swore he never let his political opinions affect his work.

Krishnamoorthi, during a hearing with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, was walking Strzok through a number of sections in the recent Justice Department Inspector General report on the FBI's handling of the Clinton investigation.

The notion that Strzok can avoid the requirements of subpoena because he said he would appear voluntarily seems flimsy, if not frivolous. "It is not a hoax".

Page and Strzok exchanged text messages that were critical of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

In the summer of 2016, I was one of a handful of people who knew the details of Russian election interference and its possible connections with members of the Trump campaign.

Strzok's appearance at a joint hearing of the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees was highly charged from the very first question, as he faced off against GOP lawmakers who have long denounced his conduct.

Although the president had just concluded a long day of meetings at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in Brussels, his mind was clearly on Washington, as he tweeted about the "Rigged Witch Hunt" and Mr Strzok's "hate filled and totally biased Emails" just before 01:00 local time.

Louie Gohmert caused an uproar at a congressional hearing Thursday when he accused an Federal Bureau of Investigation agent of lying under oath and asked him "how manytimes" did he look "so innocently into [his] wife's eyes and lie to her" about a marital affair. Gowdy said, interrupting Strzok.

"Well hang on a second Agent Strzok!"

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) was the first to question the agent, asking Strzok how many people had been interviewed in the Russian Federation probe from July 31-Aug. 8. Democrats objected to Goodlatte's repeated attempts to get Strzok to answer. Strzok told the Committee that FBI attorneys instructed him not to answer any questions about the ongoing investigation.

But Goodlatte dismissed Nadler's objections and members of the committees joined in the bickering for several minutes before Gowdy continued his questioning - which drew further objection from other members of the House committees.

One of the subplots here has been Democrats' push to release the transcript of Strzok's previous, closed-door testimony.

Strzok repeatedly insisted the texts, including ones in which he called Trump a "disaster" and said "We'll stop" a Trump candidacy, did not reflect political bias and had not infected his work.

"If I could give you a Purple Heart I would". And many Democrats say actions taken by law enforcement during the campaign season - including announcing a reopening of the investigation into Clinton just days before the election - actually wound up harming the Democratic candidate and aiding the Republican candidate, Trump.

"It was in response to a series of events that included then-candidate Trump insulting the immigrant family of a fallen war hero", Strzok said, "and my presumption based on that frightful, disgusting behavior, that the American population would not elect someone demonstrating that behavior to be president of the United States".

"At no time, in any of those texts, did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action I took", Strzok told lawmakers.